Driving better health outcomes with data

It’s repeated ad naseum that data will change our lives - nowhere is that impact more tangible and immediate than in healthcare.  We sat down with Dr. Mitesh Rao, founder of OMNY Health, to learn how they are leading the charge to unlock the potential of medical information.

The mission: The creation of  a national data layer to rapidly accelerate and improve patient care, research, and medical innovation.

From Frustration to Innovation

Dr. Rao's journey to founding OMNY stemmed from a common frustration shared by many healthcare leaders. "We knew we were sitting on best-in-class data within the health system. But traditionally, we had no scalable way to do anything," he explains. This limitation often led to one-off projects without repeatability, essentially reinventing the wheel each time.

Recognizing healthcare's data-driven future, and rooted in the frustrations and experiences in the space Dr. Rao set out to create scalable infrastructure that would empower connectivity across the healthcare ecosystem. 

A National Health Snapshot

At the heart of OMNY's approach lies its vast and comprehensive dataset, representing a significant portion of the U.S. population's healthcare information. "By end of year it'll be a third of the country's healthcare data" Dr. Rao notes. This data is sourced directly from a diverse network of healthcare providers, including large hospital systems, academic medical centers, community hospitals, specialty practices, and ambulatory care facilities.

OMNY's data capture process is unique in its breadth and depth. The company doesn't just collect structured data from electronic health records; it also incorporates unstructured data from physicians' notes, providing a more holistic view of patient care. "95% of the insights are buried in that nuances," Dr. Rao points out, referring to the wealth of information found in unstructured data.

The dataset represents a comprehensive view of patient journeys, including everything from initial complaints and diagnoses to treatments, outcomes, and long-term follow-ups. It covers hundreds of therapeutic areas, from common conditions to rare diseases, offering insights across the entire spectrum of healthcare.

Crucially, OMNY ensures that this data is de-identified and compliant with healthcare privacy regulations. They use sophisticated processes, including "95% automation" for de-identification, creating both 'safe harbor' versions of data and expert-determined versions that maintain temporal relationships for research purposes.

Improving Health Outcomes

OMNY's approach to data management and analysis is already yielding significant insights across various healthcare domains. One notable example is their GLP-1 network, which tracks patients using popular weight loss and diabetes medications.

"We are tracking really interesting dimensions because we're looking at the whole patient health," Dr. Rao explains. This comprehensive approach allows OMNY to identify unexpected benefits and side effects, providing a more holistic view of patient outcomes.

The potential applications of this data extend far beyond traditional healthcare boundaries. Dr. Rao notes, "We have AI and analytics companies who need foundational data behind what they are building, we have population health and precision medicine groups who want to understand things at a nuanced level.... There are a lot of players who are thinking about this broader piece".

The power of OMNY's approach lies not just in the data itself, but in its ability to serve as a foundation for collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem. "Our pharma partners are collaborating directly with our provider organizations on building patient-centered care pathways, on improving community engagement and clinical trials," Dr. Rao explains.

Bridging the Gap: Data as a Common Language

Dr. Rao emphasizes the importance of creating a common language of data between stakeholders. 

"Without that language of data, there's nothing they can do.... There's set on two sides of a river staring at each other and trying to figure out what can they do," he explains.

By breaking down barriers and bringing everyone to the table, OMNY aims to solve many of healthcare's challenges. Dr. Rao believes that freeing the data and creating a common language of collaboration will allow groups to securely and compliantly partner with each other, centering their efforts on patient outcomes1.

The Future of Healthcare Data

As healthcare continues to evolve, platforms like OMNY are poised to play a crucial role. By creating a common language of data between stakeholders, they're not just improving healthcare outcomes – they're reshaping the very landscape of the industry.

"We see applications for this data broadly. And there's ways to really help advance not just health and wellness for the population, but just broader lifestyle benefits," he explains.OMNY’s approach of creating a "data front door" for healthcare organizations is enabling them to step into a data-driven future, unlocking new possibilities for research, patient care, and industry collaboration.

In the end, Dr. Rao's mission with OMNY is clear: to create a foundational building layer for organizations interested in healthcare data, always centered on benefiting patients. As he puts it, "We break down those barriers. We bring everybody together to the table. And that's how we solve a lot of the challenges in healthcare".